WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Superman #30, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Scott Godlewski, Gabe Eltaeb and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.
After a stint in the 31st century with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Jon Kent's Superboy is back in the DC Universe's relative present to help save the day alongside his father Superman. Far from the young boy that teamed up with Damian Wayne to form the Super Sons, Jon is now effectively a man in his own right and a veteran superhero himself.
And as Clark Kent enjoys a new lease on life after a near-death experience protecting the Earth, a flashback to Jon's childhood in Superman #30 reminds the Man of Steel how one of the great personal tragedies in his relationship with his son.
As a family outing over mini-golf is interrupted by Superman and Superboy both needing to leap into action, the two Kents suit up and fly out across the cosmos to investigate a faraway world. Moving through the vacuum of outer space, Superman is able to gather his thoughts as he quietly observes his son flying alongside him. Clark recalls when Jon was a young boy, wearing a red cape around his shoulders and running through the fields around the Kent family farm in Smallville trying to emulate his dad before he became a superhero himself. And right down to Jon's outfit in Clark's flashback, the memory evokes an emotional moment in 2013's Man of Steel.
At the end of the inaugural DCEU film, Clark and his mother Martha meet over the grave of his father Jonathan Kent in Smallville. While Clark laments that Jonathan never got the chance to see the superhero he would become and put his powers to good use, Martha points out that Jonathan knew of his son's destiny before his untimely death. In a flashback, Jonathan watches as a young Clark similarly runs across their farm wearing a red blanket around his shoulders, striking the iconic pose in a glimpse at the man and protector he will one become.
While Clark is immensely proud of the man and hero Jon Kent has become, he can't help but reflect on the lost years between him and his son. Clark's biological father Jor-El arrived and took Jon on an impromptu tour of the cosmos; this resulted in an unexpected detour of Jon arriving on Earth-3 and forced to endure the cruelties of the Crime Syndicate of America. While Jor-El and Jon's cosmic odyssey was originally planned to last several months -- and felt that way to Superman -- the passage of time on other worlds and universes meant that Jon returned well into his teenage years shocking both of his parents upon their eventual reunion.
In entrusting his son with his father, Superman and Lois Lane were robbed the chance to raise Jon and watch him grow up before their eyes. Jon certainly appears well-adjusted despite his unorthodox upbringing, but the loss of that shared experience is one of the gravest tragedies the Kent family has ever endured. Superboy played a key role in helping his father evade his prophesied end, but the Man of Tomorrow can't help but think about what the family has missed out on. With Jon back from the 31st century, father and son are together again to save the day, but Jon's childhood was a price Clark and Lois never thought they would have to pay.